Delta Insurance: The Change Makers of the Insurance Sector

Ian Pollard, Co-Founder & MD

The insurance market in New Zealand is a transforming landscape, and a large part of this metamorphosis is the adoption of technology into the industry which is compelling businesses to rethink their traditional business models. It is also a complicated operating environment where businesses are exposed to strategic, operational, market, environmental and regulatory risks. That’s where Delta Insurance saves the day. Delta Insurance has not only embraced this macro-shift in the insurance operating environment but also renders solutions to mitigate business risks.

Established in 2014 by Ian Pollard and Craig Kirk, Delta Insurance provides comprehensive insurance cover across a range of specialist products, with a particular emphasis on commercial liabilities. “I worked for an MNC in the insurance industry for nearly 15 years in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, and New Zealand. I saw an opportunity in the New Zealand market, particularly in the liability and the financial sectors as the market has largely been isolated from many global innovations and developments,” says Ian Pollard, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Delta Insurance.

Benefitting from this first mover advantage, Delta Insurance has developed an enviable repertoire of products ranging from management liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, through to cyber insurance and environmental and pollution liability insurance. The company has also successfully targeted some key industry verticals including the burgeoning technology sector. “The insurance sector in New Zealand lacked product innovation, use of technology as a delivery device and focus from the client’s perspective,” opined Ian.

With its unique packaging and pre- and post-loss support, Delta Insurance has been able to deliver cost effective and quality service to clients

To remedy this challenge Ian and Craig sought to leverage their shared experiences in insurance markets around the world and deliver better customer service and coverage.

Generic, one-size-fits-all products are commonplace in the insurance industry in New Zealand; however, such products do not always achieve the risk outcomes that clients are looking for. Delta Insurance is seeking to change this; for example: in the Cyber Insurance segment by offering a holistic package of insurance coupled with risk management consulting and support including access to experts who can undertake pre-loss cyber risk assessments as well as provide assistance in the event of a data breach of malicious attack. With its unique packaging and pre and post-loss support, Delta Insurance has been able to deliver cost effective and quality service to clients.

The firm tackles the constantly changing regulations, risk exposures head on and builds innovative solutions that are dynamic and which embrace the changing environment. As Ian says, “We’re different from our competitors; we aren’t conservative and don’t sit back waiting for change to happen. Instead, we innovate and take the lead in building products that reflect business needs. We are proactive. Add to that, each of our products has three or four key benefits over any of our competitors.”

Delta Insurance has achieved several milestones, one of them being having built its own underwriting system for quote and policy delivery; and more critically for time-efficiency. The company has almost five new insurance products lined up for launch next year and with a team well versed with the local and the global markets it is actively looking to expand into Asian markets. “We’ve had a very successful start, performing ahead of our business plan and now have the ability to invest in new opportunities. As I look at it, my team is in an ultra marathon, and we are at the 5k mark of the 100km race,” concludes Ian.